Conservation of Woolly Monkeys

Fresco3

Fresco3

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I wanted to start this thread as I believe this is as topic that could lead to great discussions.

As it appears that of the, small, captive population of Woolly Monkeys in Europe, almost all are of a hybrid status or are untested, do you think there is any hope of a proper captive breeding programme for individual woolly monkey species?

Considering that all species are considered vulnerable, endangered or critical, there seems to be a distinct lack of urgency in doing anything to ensure the survival of the species in captivity.

Do you think this may be due to a lack of husbandry knowledge for woolly monkeys, collections that are not testing their animals' genetic purity or due to too small a captive population? Or another reason?

Do you think that any captive woolly monkeys are pure individuals or is it commonly believed that all individuals are now hybridised?

Is breeding hybrid individuals helping the species' survival at all? Apart from educating the public, is there any belief that these individuals may one day be able to help repopulate wild populations?

Are many woolly monkeys kept in facilities outside of Europe (most likely North America or Asia). Are there any South American zoos keeping pure individuals with a breeding plan in place?
 
Fresco3 said:
Are many woolly monkeys kept in facilities outside of Europe (most likely North America or Asia). Are there any South American zoos keeping pure individuals with a breeding plan in place?
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There are very few woolly monkeys left in North America - I only know of 2 old ones in Louisville Zoo, not even sure if they are still alive
 
zoo_enthusiast said:
There are very few woolly monkeys left in North America - I only know of 2 old ones in Louisville Zoo, not even sure if they are still alive
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Ah thanks for the info! A quick google reveals they have 2 males (Henry and Tomas). Interesting to note that a primate from the Americas isn't very widespread in the USA, I guess most imported stock came to Europe (either when the original stock came in or through illegal imports).

Again, there seems to be no classification visible for those two males. Suggesting they're also likely hybrids.
 
Fresco3 said:
Interesting to note that a primate from the Americas isn't very widespread in the USA, I guess most imported stock came to Europe (either when the original stock came in or through illegal imports).
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There were many importations to the US in the 20th century and the woolly monkeys quite common - though I don’t think people were bothered with specific identities back they. But they never really got established
 
For example, Smithsonian National Zoo has 36 individuals listed in ZIMS, and the last one died in 1980, several were born there in the 1970s, but only 2 grew to adulthood.

Philadelphia Zoo had 63 specimens in total, last died in 1983, and none were born
 
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I have seen wooly monkeys at the zoos of Sao Paulo,Brasilia and Río de Janeiro. In Brazil they are called mono barrigudos. I only saw adults and i believe most were confiscated primates.
 
zoo_enthusiast said:
Bronx Zoo had 54 animals, up until the 70s. Only 1 was born and lived for 1 day
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That's a real shame. It seems that there was a real chance to establish a large captive population in the USA 30-40 years ago but due to little knowledge of the species they never bred.

carlos55 said:
I have seen wooly monkeys at the zoos of Sao Paulo,Brasilia and Río de Janeiro. In Brazil they are called mono barrigudos. I only saw adults and i believe most were confiscated primates.
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I though this would be the case. Do zoos in SA have any breeding plans set up? Or are these non-breeding individuals?
Buldeo said:
Weren't Monkey World and Vallee de la Singe breeding woolly monkeys? Were they not pure?
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Monkey Worlds are definitely not pure. I'm not sure about Vallee de la Singe. To me it seems rather irresponsible, when you claim to have half the captive population on the planet, to not test the individuals you have and see how many are pure. Especially when you claim to be the leaders in woolly monkey breeding.
 
In latín América,when primate species are hard to breed in animal collections, emphasis is on protecting breeding groups in nature and zoos recieve the confiscated individuals that can not be released. This how the mexican howler monkeys are managed in México and i suspect that is how the wooly monkey population is also treated in Brasil. There are many confiscated monkeys every year that need a home,so why breed them in zoos.
 
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carlos55 said:
In latín América,when primate species are hard to breed in animal collections, emphasis is on protecting breeding groups in nature and zoos recieve the confiscated individuals that can not be released. This how the mexican howler monkeys are managed in México and i suspect that is how the wooly monkey population is also treated in Brasil. There are many confiscated monkeys every year that need a home,so why breed them in zoos.
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The reason so few Woolly Monkeys were bred in the past, was that most did not reach maturity. They were imported as babies fairly freely (I remember seeing one in a UK pet shop in the late 60s), but generally did badly). Banham Zoo and The Monkey Sanctuary both held breeding groups in the 1970s, when obviously progress had been made with their husbandry.
 
Fresco3 said:
Monkey Worlds are definitely not pure. I'm not sure about Vallee de la Singe. To me it seems rather irresponsible, when you claim to have half the captive population on the planet, to not test the individuals you have and see how many are pure. Especially when you claim to be the leaders in woolly monkey breeding.
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That's a shame that Monkey World's aren't pure. But if they aren't pure, why are they breeding them? I thought that was against the SSP?
 
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